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Nekogoroshi-hen
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gaiden: Nekogoroshi-hen (ひぐらしのなく頃に外伝 猫殺し編, When the Cicadas Cry Side Story: the Cat Killing Chapter) is a one episode special aired during the second season but set in between the first and second seasons of the anime. Synopsis The episode opens directly with the Opening Titles, the theme song, and image sequence from the first season. Keiichi sits dejected at the table during a meeting of the Club. Mion calmly reminds him as she deals the next hand of card that the fact that since he is down to 10 coins, if someone bets the fixed maximum of 10 coins, he will be automatically forced to fold. Satoko laughs and explains that no matter how tough he acts, they can all force him out. While he tries to stoically look at his cards, Rika reminds him that the punishment for losing is to "wear a wonderful costume" while parading across the village. She then excitedly lists the possibilities which include a school swimsuit, a corset, a maid's costume, but Keiichi's eyes widen in the shock of his hand: a Four of a Kind. Rika continues happily describing Keiichi's impending doom. Keiichi turns to Rena and asks her if she will lend him the 10 coins she just won from him. Rena rejects him and happily reminds him that they live in a cruel world. Keiichi curses but reminds that turning the tables is what a true Club member would do. Smiling with an evil look, Mion agrees and asks him what he will do. Keiichi proposes betting something else to make up for the 10 coins he lacks. Mion laughs knowingly: "I knew you would do that." When she asks him what he will bet, Keiichi responds with a comic montage of embarrassing costumes he will wear with the promise that they can take him home. He will even clean their ears. A chibi Mion chortles and congratulates him for putting his "body on the line." Rika asks why her face is blushing. She suggests that she is fantasizing about being alone with "Maid Keiichi," with her head on his lap as he cleans her ears, "while she's blushing going 'Kya! Kya!'" Mion shakes and stammers in her denial that she is thinking about that. Meanwhile, Rena squeals thinking of Keiichi struggling in vain while completely bound and wrapped in a large pink ribbon with a bow. She vows not to lose. With anime streams behind him, Keiichi calmly asks if they all then agree. With her own anime ''stream behind her, Mion agrees, adding that he does not even need to bet any coins, since, "lap-pillow ear cleaning is worth the ten coins!" With further ''anime dramatics, Keiichi slams down his cards. The girls are stunned by the anime awesomeness; Keiichi sits behind stacks of coins surrounded by anime sparkles and falling coins. Keiichi happily announces the next draw. Rena does not have enough coins and offers to dress up as a maid and make Keiichi dinner and dessert if she loses. Satoko admits that she also has a hand she cannot pass up. She offers the right to dress her up anyway he wants while she feeds him lunch. Rika offers to add to her 10 coins the privilege of placing a collar on her and walking her on her hands and knees. A chibi Keiichi with steam emitting from his ears asks if she is serious. For her part, Mion finds the style of betting risk over coins very interesting. She offers to dress up the way the winner wants and do their homework. Chibi Satoko thinks a costumed Mion doing her math drills is a worthy bet. Chibi Rena declares she will win and take all of them home as she gathers the rest of chibi ''them into her arms. Keiichi protests that he will win and command them all as he imagines completely pixelated giggling figures of the girls. Rika interrupts him to note he is drooling copiously. A bell rings over a view outside the school. Keiichi's voice ask, "What the (あれ・''are)?" Older villagers look in shock with one suffering a nosebleed as all of the Club emerges in costume. Keiichi narrates that, in the end, everyone won and lost. While Rena, Rika, and Satoko look dejected in their costumes, Maid Keiichi tries to appear stoic, and Cow Bikini Mion proudly smiles. Keiichi asks what the point was: "There wasn't a single victor; everyone just lost." Rena observes that "nothing good can come from fighting." They come to a crossroad, and Rena asks which way they should turn. Mion mentions that one direction takes them to Yagōchi. Keiichi mentions that he has never been there, and he asks what kind of place it is. Rika explains that it does not have any homes left standing: "it is a sad place." This excites Keiichi, and he suggests they go that way since he will not be seen by any more villagers. Mion agrees. They all but Rika start walking away from the group of stunned villagers in the direction of Yagōchi. Rika stands for a moment looking sadly at her friends as they walk down the road. She says out loud that she thinks it would be better if they did not walk to Yagōchi. Standing before a number of abandoned and deteriorating buildings, Keiichi agrees that there is really nothing in Yagōchi. He asks if anyone lives there, and Mion responds that in the past people did, but "it's been a ghost town for some time now." Rika notes that since there are very little lights, it gets quite dark at night and stray dogs gather. Rena suggests that they head back. Satoko agrees, particularly since if they get lost in their costumes, "it'll be an embarrassment that'll be told for seven generations to come!" Keiichi agrees since he does not see anything interesting, but Mion points that beyond a nearby mountain is a stone quarry from a cement firm that went bankrupt. Keiichi finds that interesting, but Rika protests that the quarry is not a place for kids. Satoko agrees that the leaflet kids receive for Summer warns them to stay away from the quarry. Keiichi finds that even more interesting. He slyly suggests to Rena that the quarry may contain a "treasure heap" as big as the one at the Dam Management site. Rena quickly enters her Cute Mode. Mion sighs and agrees that they should avoid the quarry: "They say there's a big 'pit' there." Keiichi asks her what she means by a "pit," but Satoko interrupts to note that she has also heard stories about this "pit." She asks Mion if the stories are true. Rika advises that she thinks it will be better if they do not approach this "pit." Rena asks Mion what this "pit" is. She replies that it is a story Rena and Keiichi would not know. Darkly, Rika explains that it is said that two people died. All look at her. Satoko calls it a ghost story, and Mion turns very serious claiming she still remembers it since it could have been her who slipped inside the "pit." There are still times when she becomes very scared. Mion explains that about six or seven years ago when the Dam War was still peaceful, the children of Yagōchi played like those of Hinamizawa in the fields and mountains. Over a flashback of investigators at the quarry, Mion explains that when the company that owned the quarry collapsed, the president of the company was tricked into co-signing the debt of the employees, but all of them suddenly absconded. Satoko adds that she heard the president committed a double-murder suicide. Mion affirms that he killed his wife and son in the quarry's prefab office tent. The president then poured lamp oil on himself and set himself on fire. Keiichi interrupts to remind that Rika said two, not three, people died. Rika looks darkly, and Mion apologizes that the three deaths of the president's family do not "count" towards the "pit" story. Because of the murders and suicide, the quarry was closed down. Satoko adds that there are rumors the president's ghost wanders the quarry. Mion admits that such a story attract children. Keiichi agrees, and Mion confesses that "we" went there. Rika gives a "Mii" and denies ever going, while Satoko reminds Mion that she and Rika were very young. There is a flashback of a can being kicked in the air and laughing children scattering on the grounds of the quarry. Mion narrates that the curiosity led her and other kids to play Kick the Can. She notes that she and some of the other kids noticed an odd scent in the quarry. As a 9 or 10-year-old hiding as part of the game, Mion says "it stinks." Back in real time, Keiichi asks about this scent. Mion describes it like the scent of a rotten egg. Keiichi asks "like sulfur?" and Mion quickly agrees. Keiichi notes that sulfur is usually emitted near volcanoes which would be odd in a quarry. Mion agrees, and as the flashback returns, she explains they soon stopped noticing the scent and continued their game. A kid name Takashi is caught, and he joins the collection of "captured" children which included Mion. An adult dressed in a gray uniform and baseball cap runs up to them demanding they leave. Screaming, the kids scatter. Mion calls that they all ran away. Back in the present, Keiichi asks if that is all of the story. Mion looks down and quietly admits that there is more. Rena asks why she turned sad, and Mion continues to explain that one boy never returned. They all scattered to their homes and did not notice him missing. Rika sadly claims that he met with Oyashiro-sama's Curse and was "spirited away by the demon," as the story goes. Keiichi asks what that means. Satoko explains that it is another "ghost story (怪談・''kaidan''). Mion continues that his parents called every one of the rest of the children's homes, but none of the children had returned with him. His father, fearing he suffered an accident, drove to the quarry. He never returned. Satoko recalls that she heard his car was found by the river banks in Yagōchi on the path toward Hinamizawa with both of their bodies inside. Rena finds it sad that both died after the father found him. Satoko continues that it is at that point the story "gets strange." The accident occurred near the quarry. When Keiichi asks her why that is strange, she explains that since it was by that time quite dark, the boy had to have stayed near the quarry all that time until his father arrived. Keiichi suggests that perhaps the worker caught him and scolded him during that time. Mion responds that the police investigated that possibility and claimed that there was no one at the quarry that day. She shakes her head and insists that a "strange man" did chase them out. Satoko notes that some believe the man was a ghost; Mion insists that ghosts do not make so much noise when they run. Keiichi leaves aside the identity of the man in uniform and redirects their attention to why the boy remained in the quarry until dark. Rika responds that the rumor says he may have fallen into the "pit." Rena asks what, exactly, this "pit" is, and Satoko explains that it is incredibly deep, "reaching all the way to the realm of the demons deep below the ground." Mion continues to explain that there exists a "demon realm" deep below Onigafuchi Village. The "pit" perhaps leads to it. Keiichi says he now understands what "onikakushi," "spirited away by the demon," means. Rena questions this. The boy did not disappear; he met his father, and then the two died in an accident on the way home. Mion reminds them of the strange smell at the quarry. She explains that the first villager to find the car detected a faint smell of rotten eggs when he looked inside the car. Keiichi wonders if it could have been hydrogen sulfide. He explains the dangers of the gas. Rika suggests that a boy, playing Kick the Can in the quarry, inhaled the leaking gas, and collapsed. When his father arrived, he too inhaled the harmful gas. As a pair of crows flies above them, Mion congratulates Rika on her explanation. Keiichi admits that he still feels that something is concealed that means it was not an accident. Over a flashback of crows gathering on the branches of trees above the crashed car, Keiichi notes a few concerning points: the worker who was not supposed to be there; the reason the boy stayed until nightfall; and their deaths in the car on the way back. Mion suggests that they may learn the truth if they go to the quarry and check if such a leakage happened. Keiichi asks her if she seriously thinks of going to the quarry. Satoko reminds her that if their theory is correct, the quarry remains dangerous. Rena also does not wish to go. Mion protests that her interest has been raised. As the two crows land on a branch above them, Mion explains that Keiichi's explanation gives her the hope that she will finally solve the ghost story. She puts her finger on his nose as she asks him does he not want to know the truth. He thinks, then finally smiles as Rika lets out a "Mii." They both turn to Rika, and Rika protests that "Some places in this world are considered taboo." Impressed, Keiichi asks her what she means. Rika explains that in all light there is dark, and with all good places, there are bad places. When humans cannot explain such places in words, they call them "taboo." Keiichi has a sudden flashback to his murders of Rena and Mion, which includes Rena trying to extend her hands to him to help him. Keiichi does not show an outward expression, and Rena, next to him, smiles and reminds them of the saying that "curiosity killed the cat." She suggests that it may prove best, "not to let morbid curiosity get the better of us." Crows start flying away from the trees. Satoko agrees with Rena, and Mion asks if everyone agrees with leaving. Rena adds that if she does not return home before nightfall her father will become worried. Keiichi reminds that if his daughter returns late in her costume, he might faint on the spot. Rena protests that the same applies to him. Keiichi looks at his "bunny ears," and Mion recalls what she is wearing. She agrees to "call it a day" and return home. As she, Rena, and Satoko begin to walk back towards Hinamizawa, Keiichi stays back a bit and looks behind him. Rika asks him what is wrong, and Keiichi asks her if he explored the quarry, would he fall into the "pit" and be "demoned away." "You would. Nipaa~!" Rika replies with a cute smile. Keiichi laughs and agrees that he should stay away. As he starts to catch up, Mion accuses him of being scared, and Satoko declares that his knees are shaking. Keiichi in playful anger chases them down the road. Rika remains. As a wind blows her hair, she narrates in her Adult Voice that, "This is for the best. Even if you don't seek it out yourself, the curse will come for you on its own." As the scene pans over the abandoned quarry, she notes that, after all, Watanagashi will come soon. The scene focuses on the "pit" where a uniformed man stands in it. He turns towards the viewer, smiles, and the End Titles of the first season start along with "Why, or Why Not?" Post-End Titles Instead of the usual Adult Rika Voice there is a title card for One-Blow Cat Killing (必殺猫殺し・ひっさつねこころし・''Hissatsu Neko Koroshi''). Chibi versions of the group in their costumes walk home as cats on either side of the road hiss at them. Keiichi notes that there are a lot of cats around. Rena fearfully adds that they seem to be angry at something. Satoko asks what could have happened to them. Mion observes: "Title nyaah! Ne?" Rika smiles and agrees with a "Mii." Characters In order of appearance *Maebara Keiichi *Sonozaki Mion *Furude Rika *Hōjō Satoko *Ryūgū Rena *Villagers from Hinamizawa *The Company President and Family (mentioned) *Mion's Unnamed Childhood Friends (flashback) *Takashi (flashback) *Uniformed Man (unnamed) *The missing child and his parents (flashback) *A villager from Hinamizawa (flashback) *Rena's Father (mentioned) *Several Cats (Nyaa! Nyaa!) Referbacks and Forwards *It is later revealed in Matsuribayashi-hen that the haunted quarry is being used by the Yamainu to store the poison that will be used in the Great Hinamizawa Disaster when Rika dies. *Rena lived away from Hinamizawa. *Rika of course says, "Onikakushi." **In this arc, Keiichi has never heard of Onikakushi. *Onigafuchi was the original name of Hinamizawa. *This is the second time Keiichi experiences a flashback to his murders of Rena and Mion in Onikakushi-hen. The previous occurred in the previous arc that ends the first season: Tsumihoroboshi-hen. Trivia *While released during the Second Season, the episode occurs between the two seasons. Its numbering is based on its position in the timeline of the arcs. *'Keiichi's Hand:' Jack of Clubs, Seven of Diamonds, Seven of Hearts, Seven of Spades, and the Joker. *Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) Cultural References *'Ear Cleaning' (耳掃除・''mimi sōji''):' Cleaning ears in Japan can be considered romantic. *Kick the Can Memorable Moments *''When They Cry Wikia cannot in mere words do justice to Rika's description of Mion's fantasy of Keiichi cleaning her ears. *Keiichi's flashback memory from a previous arc. Quotes *"You'll be forced to walk around town with your head down low with your face all blushy blushy. Nipaa~!" - Rika to Keiichi *"Why is Mii's face all reddy red?" - Rika *"You don't need to bet any coins. Lap-pillow ear cleaning is worth the ten coins!" - Mion *"It seems the Goddess of Victory fell in love with me." - Keiichi *"Basically, Hell (地獄・じごく・''jigoku'') exists there." - Mion *"Keiichi, where there is light, there is always shadow, and in the same way, where there are good places, there are bad ones as well. There are instances where treading upon such places will make people miserable without reason. When us humans are unable to define such dreadful places in words, we call such places 'taboo.'" - Rika Gallery Gaiden Nekogoroshi-hen.jpg|The cover of the original Light Novel version. Keiichi's Hand.png Keiichi Bet-2.png Keiichi Ear Cleaner.png|'''Meanwhile . . . in Japan: Ear cleaning is serious business! Mion Dreams of Keiichi.png|Mion dreams of Keiichi . . . cleaning her ears! Rena's Fantasy.png|'Rena's Fantasy' When They Cry Wikia does not judge. Mion convinces Keiichi.png|Mion convinces Keiichi to go to the quarry. The Pit.png|The "Pit" Category:Arcs Category:Anime Only Arcs Category:Anime Category:Episodes